Coronavirus hotspots ease, but officials warn normal is a long way off

The number of new coronavirus infections in some of the states hit hardest by the pandemic in the last month is easing, but public health officials warn that widespread transmission is still taking place, and that a return to normal life is a long way off.

New daily case counts have declined in the last two weeks in eleven states where the virus surged after lockdowns eased and people began venturing out more, raising hopes that the second wave of infections has crested.

“Our numbers seem to be stabilizing, which is fantastic. I’ll take stable, but I’d rather see them stable at a lower rate,” said Mandy Cohen, North Carolina’s secretary of Health and Human Services. “We still have work to do to go from stable to decline.” Continue reading.